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Amber Lehman
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Buy your personally signed copy today.
Torn $15.00
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I was born and raised in Orange County, California. I spend most of my days writing. Torn is my first novel.
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I was born in sunny southern California and have lived there all my life. I have been reading and writing stories since I can remember. I loved book projects at school and this inspired me to continue making them at home. My early stories were fun and fanciful and full of fairies. As I grew older, more serious subjects began to steal my interest. TORN reflects the time period between high school and my early twenties. I would often take long breaks from writing it. It took me 5 years to complete the novel since I was caring for my grandmother at the time. It was another 9 years before I decided to publish it. TORN is a Young Adult novel written for older teens (17+) and deals with high school students who are coping with issues of sexual orientation and finding themselves.I am currently working on a sequel to TORN.
Birth Place: Newport Beach, CA USA
Accomplishments: WINNER-2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards/GLBT category
FINALIST-2010 Lambda Literary Award/Bisexual Fiction
REVIEW: Marilyn Jaye Lewis- Lambda Literary Foundation
Torn is a 2009 Lambda Literary Award Finalist/Bisexual Fiction.
If a bisexual coming-of-age novel like Torn had been written when I was coming of age in the mid-1970s, it would have gone a long way toward helping me feel sane. In fact, if I could have read this book when I was 14 (the age at which we meet the book s protagonist, Krista McKinley), I probably would have become addicted to this book and carried it with me wherever I went; bisexuals let alone teenaged bisexuals get very few reliable toeholds in our society even today.
Torn is a brave and memorable achievement in teen fiction. It is unflinching in its accurate depiction of the curious lust for experience that is basically synonymous with being a teenager. The characters delve into drugs, drinking, and sex just as zealously and carelessly as teenagers do in real life, and they careen into the wall of consequences just as hard. Krista and her friends Carrie, Brandon, Ryan, Nick, and Aeleise (in varying combinations throughout the book) have access to plenty of booze when they want it; they try cocaine and ecstasy; they play football, they re cheerleaders, they attend the homecoming dance as well as bible study groups; some are victims of incest and rape, while others carefully choose when they will lose their virginity and to whom; they have co-ed sleepovers where they kiss and sometimes have sex with each other; they shop a lot and, since this is Southern California, they also go surfing. However, when the characters err in judgment, they get caught and are forced to examine their actions along with their motivations and must somehow make amends. Perhaps most importantly, Torn tackles that complicated identity question of am I bisexual, or [gay or lesbian], or just experimenting? with a huge heart and an honest appraisal, and best yet for bisexuals the answer resounds with hope for teenagers who find themselves genuinely attracted to both sexes.
The characters in Torn may seem torrid on the surface, yet Lehman has crafted her characters with such kindness and with such attention to realistic detail that they are easy to become addicted to, even as an adult reader. These are insecure gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters who are fiercely devoted to each other, who hold one another accountable for everything.
The few parents depicted in Torn are rich, ineffectual and self-involved. The other parents are curiously absent, with two families being overseen by older brothers. This helps create a world where the teenagers take center stage and are forced to look out for one another. The older brothers (Krista s brother Marc, a doctor; and Aeleise s brother Daemon, a pilot, a devout Christian and a thirty-year-old virgin) are so well-grounded in morals and discipline that they wind up being more effective and more respected than most real-life parents.
My one complaint about Torn is that it is too long. The attention paid to the details of what everyone is wearing, eating, or drinking frequently adds too much clutter to the story. Otherwise, Torn is a page-turner whose ending might possibly astound you.
This is a terrific first novel that deserves an open-minded read. You ll make fast friends with the teenagers in this book and if you re already an adult you ll perhaps find yourself feeling friendlier toward the questioning teenager you once were. --Marilyn Jaye Lewis
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Books
|  | Torn by Amber Lehman
When fourteen-year old Krista McKinley transfers from Catholic school in Ohio to California’s public Crestmount High, she discovers she has a lot to learn. Luckily, she is befriended by Carrie and Brandon and things start to look up. But when a simple dare tests Krista’s values, it sends her entire world spiraling into a confusing series of events that leaves her questioning her identity as well a...
Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk
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Short Stories
Sample Chapter 1 by Amber Lehman
Chapter 1...
Sample Chapter 2 by Amber Lehman
Chapter 2...
Sample Chapter 3 by Amber Lehman
Chapter 3...
Sample Chapter 13 by Amber Lehman
Sample Chapter 13...
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Articles
First-Time Novelist Amber Lehman Aces The Next Generation Indie Book Awards by Amber Lehman
Amber Lehman’s novel TORN explores the often taboo topic of teen sexuality. Following the journey of a 14 year old girl who is faced with experimentation, bisexuality and losing her virginity, TORN th...
TORN named Winner in the 2010 Next Generation Indie Awards- GLBT by Amber Lehman
Amber Lehman's, TORN named the Winner in the GLBT category of the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards! ...
Finalists in the 22nd Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced! by Amber Lehman
A subject that was once taboo – the curiosity teens experience when discovering sexuality – is now being recognized in the novel “TORN” by first time author, Amber Lehman. Lehman is a finalist in the ...
Teen Sexuality Explored in Young Adult Fiction Novel, Torn, by Amber Lehman by Amber Lehman
Many parents make the mistake of NOT discussing the topic of sexuality with teens. Keeping silent will not keep teens from experimenting with heterosexual activities and even homosexual activities....
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News
Moving is a lot of Work! by Amber Lehman
Moving, deep discounts at www.closetcasepress.com/buynow.htm...
Fun on Goodreads! by Amber Lehman
Press Releases & Goodreads . . ....
Changes to the sequel to TORN by Amber Lehman
A new approach to writing....
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Links
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| Closet Case Press
Come discover more about me and my novel Torn. Read sample chapters! You can purchase online too!
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Amazon
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Barnes & Noble
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Interview 2 with author Amber Lehman of the novel TORN
Interview 2 with award-winning author Amber Lehman of the young adult novel TORN.
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Additional information
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| My first novel is called Torn. |
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Contact
Information
Closet Case Press
P.O. Box 12961
Newport Beach
CA
92658
USA |
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